As new instruments and programmes of the future EU development cooperation for the period 2014-2020 are taking shape, WWF has shared with the European Commission and the European External Action Service a briefing paper which includes an assessment of the EU Switch Asia Programme and some key recommendations that were drawn upon this analysis.

WWF believes that the Switch Asia programme has proved to be a valuable tool to work towards the goals of green economies and should continue to boost efforts for supporting actions that link climate change and conservation objectives with social and economic aspects that are embedded in Sustainable Consumption and Production practices.

This programme should help Europe to proactively engage in promoting SCP in regions of fast economic growth, as a step towards building the basis for new regional cooperation. The SWITCH programme has also a great potential of being replicated and expanded to other regions in the world such as Africa, Latin America and EU Neighbourhood and the successful experiences in managing Switch-Asia Programme may add value to this purpose.

The recommendations are based on the experience gained by WWF network in implementing SWITCH Asia projects over the last few years, and could be of valuable insight for shaping and implementing future SWITCH programmes.

Meeting development goals in the face of global environmental pressures. How will the EU respond to the complexity of these challenges?